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The Pickton-Pine Forest station under construction during the month of July. The VFD hopes it will be finished in early August. Courtesy/ Mark Sustaire
Still ‘rock n’ rolls’ even without facilities
PICKTON—The July heat is sweltering, but that doesn’t stop Pickton-Pine Forest from putting in hard labor on the volunteer fire department’s new headquarters.
Located in Pine Forest, the station has been gutted down to the steel beams and completely reassembled by Chief. Trey Thompson and the volunteer fire department’s crew and community members. Thompson believes the original station was over 70 years old, he said.
“It was molded, termite damaged, falling apart,” Thompson said. “It had water damage and termite damage. It was in really bad shape.”
The new station has a raised roof to accommodate taller trucks, as well as new electrical, insulation, re-welded girders and a fresh paint job. It will feature a bathroom and kitchen area and will finally be able to fit all the VFD’s trucks. Before the renovation, the VFD was
Before the renovation, the VFD was storing a brush truck and their engine at the station, but they kept their tractor on member Tracy Hankins’ lawn. In fact, that’s where the group is keeping their equipment now—although their station is inoperable, they’re still running calls from Hankins’ yard.
Thompson said the group plans to hold an appreciation dinner for the community sometime in late October.
“Maybe barbecue some turkeys, give them [community members] a look inside and just say thanks for everything you’ve been doing,” Thompson said.
It’s not easy for the volunteer station, which covers a territory of approximately 88 square miles, according to their Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating. This is nearly the same size as the city of Sulphur Springs. Although the city has a budget of $2.2 million with 22 full time and six part-time employees, Thompson and the Pickton-Pine Forest crew receive approximately $700 monthly from the county and whatever they can take in from grants and community donations.
The station has been saving up to replace their facilities for approximately 12 years, Thompson said. The community was integral in building the new station, from clearing brush to building tear-down, Thompson said.
“When you have some good old farm boys who come with their tractors, I swear we had 10 or 12 people out here some days,” he said.
Overall, Thompson said he feels the experience is mutually rewarding for both firefighters and for Pickton-Pine Forest.
“We rock n’ roll, we run every call,” Thompson said. “We’re becoming heavy hitters, we cover a lot of territory, and we back up a lot of people. We’re pretty proud of what we do out here. …It’s time consuming, but when you do what you love and you have the support of the community, it’s all good.”
*An earlier version of this story identified Thompson as captain when he is the chief. The story has been modified to reflect this correction.